International Trade

January 27, 2012
USPTO Wipes Out Key Rambus DRAM Patent

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Tuesday invalidated another Rambus Inc. patent that has been at the center of the technology licensing firm’s victories at the U.S. International Trade Commission.
January 27, 2012
FDA Finds Banned Fungicide Again In Orange Juice Imports

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday announced that samples in 11 orange juice shipments from Brazil and Canada tested positive for traces of the banned fungicide carbendazim, a week after a first round of tests came back negative.
January 27, 2012
FTAs Spur New Infrastructure Interest In Panama, Colombia

With infrastructure that has failed to keep pace with their booming economies, Panama and Colombia are expected to be hotbeds of opportunity for project developers as they seek to take advantage of incentives from new free trade agreements struck with the U.S., experts say.
January 27, 2012
CIT Backs Lowered Duty For Chinese Valve Co.

An anti-dumping case filed by Zhejiang DunAn Hetian Metal Co. Ltd. over front-seating service valves from China wrapped up Friday, when the U.S. Court of International Trade affirmed the results of a remand to the Department of Commerce that yielded a lower duty rate for Zhejiang.
January 27, 2012
International Trade Group Of The Year: Sidley Austin

Whether advising the government of South Korea on the U.S. free trade agreement President Barack Obama signed into law in October or winning a rare European Union General Court reversal of anti-dumping measures for LG Electronics, Sidley Austin LLP’s international trade attorneys had a hand in some of the highest profile matters of the year, earning the group a spot among Law360’s International Trade Groups of 2011.
January 27, 2012
Commerce Delays Ruling On Chinese Solar Subsidies

The U.S. Department of Commerce said Friday that it was delaying until March 2 its deadline for reaching an initial decision on whether China's solar energy sector had received illegal subsidies.
January 27, 2012
EU Committee Backs Proposal To Allow More Outside Beef

European Union lawmakers moved forward a proposal on Friday to raise the bloc's import quota for hormone-free beef, in an effort to help put an end to the EU's long-running trade dispute with the U.S. and Canada over its ban on hormone-treated beef imports.
January 27, 2012
New Policies To Boost US-Japan Trade Relations

The U.S. government on Friday announced a series of trade policy guidelines designed to improve trade conditions and communications technology compatibility between the U.S. and Japan that have been adopted since the countries embarked on a cooperation initiative in 2010.
January 26, 2012
International Trade Group Of The Year: King & Spalding

King & Spalding LLP attorneys have scored victories for U.S. aluminum extrusions producers in one of the largest trade remedy investigations of Chinese imports ever conducted and helped California cement makers lobby for changes to the state's cap-and-trade regime — just two of many achievements that sealed King & Spalding's place among Law360's International Trade Groups of 2011.
January 26, 2012
Apple Asks ITC For Prosecution Bar In HTC Patent Row

Apple Inc. on Wednesday asked an administrative judge to bar attorneys representing HTC Corp. in its bid to block the importation of iPads and iPhones from prosecuting any patents related to the technology involved in the infringement dispute.
January 26, 2012
Mexico Appeals WTO Ruling In Dolphin-Safe Tuna Dispute

Mexico on Wednesday appealed a recent World Trade Organization panel ruling that U.S. dolphin-safe tuna labeling rules did not discriminate against products from Mexico even though they were found to be overly trade-restrictive.
January 26, 2012
ITC Calls Off 20-Year-Old Norwegian Salmon Duties

The U.S. International Trade Commission on Thursday went against the judgment of the U.S. Department of Commerce, announcing that anti-dumping and countervailing duties on Norwegian salmon imports were no longer necessary and revoking the 20-year-old duty.
January 26, 2012
Leahy Open To Other Anti-Piracy Bills After PIPA's Fall

The sponsor of the recently-shelved Protect IP Act is willing to look at alternative anti-piracy legislation in order to stem the theft of American intellectual property by foreign websites, a representative for the senator told Law360 on Thursday.
January 26, 2012
Cameron Calls For US-EU Free Trade Deal

U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron urged world leaders Thursday to look beyond the struggling Doha Round of World Trade Organization talks and focus on bold alternatives, including a free trade agreement between the European Union and the U.S.
January 25, 2012
CPSC Proposes Child-Resistant Packages for Decongestants

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission on Friday proposed a rule requiring child-resistant packaging for eye drops and nasal sprays containing certain decongestants, saying children who accidentally ingest the drugs risk harm to their central nervous and cardiovascular systems.
January 25, 2012
China Doubled Solar Cell Imports Into US, Group Says

An association of U.S. solar cell manufacturers lashed out against their Chinese rivals on Wednesday, saying the Chinese producers have more than doubled imports of crystalline silicon solar cells and modules into the U.S. in advance of potential duties on such imports.
January 25, 2012
International Trade Group Of The Year: Gibson Dunn

The international trade team at Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP scored a victory for the Japanese steel industry in anti-dumping proceedings over hot-rolled steel, and secured an Office of Foreign Assets Control general license unblocking a state-owned Libyan shipping company's funds, two of the achievements that won Gibson Dunn a place among Law360's International Trade Groups of 2011.
January 25, 2012
Commerce Kicks Off Countervailing Duty Probe On Hangers

The U.S. Department of Commerce has agreed to investigate claims that Vietnamese companies were importing and selling wire hangers in the U.S. at below-market prices, according to a notice filed in the federal register Tuesday.
January 25, 2012
UK Seeks To Punish Airlines That Flout EU Emissions Plan

U.K. lawmakers on Wednesday called for international airlines that use U.K. airports but do not comply with the European Union's cap-and-trade program to be punished with grounded flights and higher air passenger duties.
January 24, 2012
Obama Urges Sweeping Economic Efforts For Trade, Energy

President Barack Obama offered a broad new economic plan in his State of the Union speech Tuesday, calling for a combination of legislative and executive efforts to boost American manufacturing and trade, stimulate domestic energy production, create a more equitable tax code, and prevent abuses in the financial sector.

Expert Analysis

Don't Expect Much From DOJ’s New FCPA Guidance

The announcement that the U.S. Department of Justice would be releasing “detailed new guidance” on Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement created an initial buzz of excitement. But what the DOJ meant by “guidance” is almost certainly different from the extraordinary U.K. Bribery Act guidance, and the DOJ is unlikely to modify its aggressive FCPA stance, says Mike Emmick of Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP.
Year In Review: Significant Developments Under EEA

Last year was the most active and productive one since the enactment of the Economic Espionage Act more than 15 years ago. The convictions obtained and significant sentences imposed in 2011 send a strong message of general and specific deterrence, say Mark Krotoski and Richard Scott of the U.S. Department of Justice.
Financing LNG Liquefaction Projects

If the natural gas liquefaction capacity currently proposed is constructed, the U.S. could become a hub in a global natural gas trade. The country will have the facilities to both export and import LNG, both short-term and long-term, as well as the facilities to store the commodity for consumption or future export, says David Schumacher of McDermott Will & Emery LLP.
Widening The Net Under Iran Sanctions Act

As tensions grow between the U.S. and Iran, and the U.S. seeks to restrict Iran’s access to oil revenues, it appears likely that the U.S. will continue to pursue a mixture of persuasion and economic coercion against entities and perhaps even states that continue to do business as usual with Tehran, say attorneys with Steptoe & Johnson LLP.
The Patriot Act And The Cloud: Part 1

The Patriot Act is one of the most controversial, polarizing and, in many respects, misunderstood, pieces of U.S. legislation this century. It is important to dispel some of the myths shrouding the act, and to assess the risks it poses to data stored in the cloud, particularly where the data, or its owner, are based outside of the U.S., says Alex Lakatos of Mayer Brown LLP.
Permitting Private FCPA Suits: Inside HR 3531

A bill recently introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives appears to be an attempt to level the playing field of Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement by giving U.S. companies the opportunity to bring suit against foreign concerns. Despite its limited scope, the bill could potentially lead to a substantial increase in private litigation, say attorneys with Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP.
IP Counsel's 'Cheat Sheet' To FCPA And Travel Act

The tactics used to register, challenge or enforce intellectual property rights in foreign jurisdictions must be carefully viewed through the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act/Travel Act lens. We have created the IP FCPA/Travel Act decision tree, which uniquely traces out the key questions to be answered in any potential corruption case, say Douglas Sawyer and Markus Funk of Perkins Coie LLP.
Limiting Liability For Replacement Parts

The Washington and California Supreme Court decisions in Braaten v. Sagerhagen Holdings and O’Neil v. Crane Co. contribute to a growing body of precedent defining the limits of tort liability for product manufacturers and distributors and limiting their liability for later-added replacement parts manufactured and distributed by others, say Lauren Michals and Ross Petty of Nixon Peabody LLP.
Fighting The Scourge Of Corruption

During the 26th National Conference on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, representatives from the U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission acknowledged significant improvements in corporate compliance over the last several years but emphasized that vigorous enforcement of the FCPA would continue as part of an ever-increasing global effort to combat corruption, say Paul Berger, Sean Hecker and David Fuhr of Debevoise & Plimpton LLP.
Bringing A Boost To International Gov't Contracting

The revised World Trade Organization Government Procurement Agreement is a landmark trade agreement that will expand international competition in the government procurement sector. It contains some of the most significant changes in WTO rules on government contracting since the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade Tokyo Round in 1979, say attorneys with Sidley Austin LLP